Yes, I have been neglectful. I have broken a blogging commandment: Thou shall not neglect thy blog for more than a month. And, yes, it has been almost 2 years since my last food blog.

So, why come back now? Why not? It is a lazy Saturday and I don't have too much other work to do, so I thought I'd update on some recent foodie experiences.

1. I got to eat at Michael Symon's Lola in Cleveland last month. He is, of course, my favorite Iron Chef. This certainly started because he is an Ohioan, but I have grown to enjoy him as just a loveable TV character. But, getting to actually experience his food means that I can now love him because I had an awesome meal at Lola. I didn't go all out and go crazy, but I got to sample a few friends' dishes as well as my own Wild Boar Cavatelli. The flavors were AMAZING!!! Everyone around me had steaks and large pork chops and I was afraid I would be jealous of their very substantial meals. But I definitely did not end up pinning and begging like a stray dog. Because their meals were so large, I got to taste all of theirs and they were quite delish. But I would not share my cavatelli. It was too good and a little on the small side to give up any of the unctuous creation. Call me selfish, a food hoarder, what you will. I practically became Golem with his "precious" when it came to sharing any of my cavatelli.

2. As I am addicted to all things Anthony Bourdain, I was excited (no, ecstatic) that No Reservations recently started up again with season 8. After watching the Mozambique episode, I was inspired to try my own hand at Piri Piri Chicken. It turned out great! It had great flavor and moist meat! I used this recipe:

Marinate chicken in the above overnight in the fridge. I use gallon size Ziploc bags. I also used bone IN and skin ON to help with flavor and keeping moist when on the grill. But I am sure the healthier skinless would work too.

*Take chicken out of fridge one hour before you plan to grill and let come to room temp.

*Heat grill to medium heat and place chicken pieces skin side down to start. Reserve the marinade for basting.

*Leave chicken to cook on skin side for 5-7 minutes and baste the side that is up. Then flip the chicken pieces and cook and baste the other side for 5 minutes. Flip and baste each side twice. Depending on the thickness of the chicken pieces, you may need more time. My Chicken Breasts were HUGE, and I ended up finishing them in the oven while we all chowed down on the legs and thighs for dinner. The breasts made a lovely lunch the next day. 3. Back in November 2011, I traveled to Shanghai, China to visit my friend, Wang Li. While I would not say that I had any kind of orgasmic food experience, I did get to experience traditional Shanghaiese food and enjoyed it very much. Perhaps my favorite was an afternoon tea with house specialty dim sum. Below are some pictures of the food and the place we had this traditional Chinese tea.

I would not say the food was much different from South Korean meals, but it was still very good!

5. In June, my husband, Mark, and I went to Oregon for a friend's wedding. I must encourage everyone to go eat at a Peruvian restaurant called Andina. The ANTICUCHO DE CORAZÓN, or marinated beef heart kebobs, served with a spicy salsa de rocoto were to DIE for!

In addition, while in on the Oregon Coast, we visited a most delightful winery, The Flying Dutchman. We arrived right before they were closing, so thought we might not even get to try any of the wines. not only were they happy to stay open for us for a bit, but the vintner came out and asked if we would like to join a tour and barrel tasting he was going to do with a couple of friends. Uhhh, yes please! It was a really great experience! I took the picture above while there. I have posted a better one below as well. The one below would not conform to the banner pic size above!

As you can see, we sampled quite a bit of the dim sum. All was good!

This is the tea house where we ate. It is outside the Yu Gardens in Shanghai. The bridge you see in front is famous. It is called the 9 turns bridge. Many bridges in China will have many turns so that people can get wonderful views at each turn!

The Flying Dutchman Winery is located in Otter Rock on the Oregon Coast. Literally. On. The. Coast. This is the scene from the winery's "backyard."

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Diana Tucker

I enjoy a nice meal and love to cook! In this blog you will find everything from restaurant reviews, recipes and descriptions of meals I have made.